Page 10 - WHS FH 2014 Memory Book - Megan Cunningham

But as successful as her team was last season, Hynes' selection as The Hour's Coach of the Year was as much in
recognition of her entire body of work. It's a testament to her 183 career wins--against only 47 losses and 17
ties--in her 14 years on the WHS sideline.

That averages out to more than 13 wins a season, a figure very few programs, in Fairfield County or elsewhere
in the state, can lay claim to.

And in six of those 14 seasons, Hynes guided the Warriors to the last possible day of the season, playing for a
state championship. It took her only four seasons--or her first class of four-year players in the program--to get
there.

They lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to New Canaan that year, and a double-overtime setback in 2005 to eventual state
champion Branford. But Wilton made it back to the finals in 2006 and this time beat Daniel Hand 2-0 to bring
home the school's second state title in field hockey and first in 30 years.

Then after a 2-1 loss to FCIAC rival Darien in the 2008 Class M final, Wilton returned in 2011 to begin their
run of three straight state crowns. If you're keeping score at home, that's four state championships under Hynes'
watch. And all of them left their mark on the Wilton High program.

"They're all special," Hynes said. "Each year is different; each team is different. With every graduating class,
the team dynamics change, the personnel on the field changes.

"And with that, each year there's a different chemistry on the team."

Yes, every season for the last 14 years the names and players have changed. But one constant has remained
throughout: The head coach. Hynes, who played field hockey at Mahopac High School in New York and then
four more years at Sacred Heart University, has been able to put her thumbprint on each of her teams.

It didn't matter, either, that the Warriors turned over a number of players each year through graduations. They
kept on producing one winning season after another that always found a way to contend for both the FCIAC and
state titles every year.

"You try to think ahead with your JV program," Hynes said, explaining her philosophy. "We've always had
good JV teams and, if we have the numbers, good freshmen teams. That's where they learn the fundamentals,
and even though they might not play a lot of varsity their first couple of years, they get better and more
experience playing against our varsity players in practice.

"Then once we lay down the foundation, they start to
develop their own chemistry."

Look no further than the last three seasons to see how
Hynes' formula works. Both her 2011 and 2012 teams
graduated six key starters from the previous season,
while the 2013 squad was hit even harder, losing eight
seniors from the year before.

But all three teams ended the season the same way,
celebrating a state championship. The 2013 team was
the perfect exclamation mark to the three-peat.

"That class was always a strong class, even as
freshmen and sophomores," Hynes said. "When some
of them were sophomores and even juniors they were
getting their experience playing against some of the
best players in the state and waiting for their turn to be
in the limelight."

A 2-0 loss to Darien in September turned out to be the Warriors’ only blemish on their 15-1 regular-season